Anybody Out There?
by strawberrygirl2000
Summary: "Hello, hello/Anybody out there?/'Cause I don't hear a sound/Alone, alone/I don't really know where the world is but I miss it now" "I'm okay" he reminded himself. "I have to do this." "'Cause my echo, echo/is the only voice coming back/Shadow, shadow/Is the only friend that I have" Songfic, using Jason Walker's Echo to help describe Nico's time in Tartarus.


**Hey guys! This is another fic for the camp Half-Blood Forum, and it is Song-Fic week! It is a Nico in Tartarus because I thought that Echo by Jason Walker was a good song to fit his time in the eternal pit. **

**Enjoy Y'all**

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_Hello, hello_  
_Anybody out there? 'Cause I don't hear a sound_  
_Alone, alone_  
_I don't really know where the world is but I miss it now_

Pain shot up Nico's legs as his feet hit the ground. He gasped in pain and pulled the ambrosia from his pocket. It melted in his mouth, tasting of Sally Jackson's chocolate chip cookies. He closed his eyes for a moment, hearing the sounds of the river beside him. It cried out to him, telling him he should just join them at the bottom of the river.

_I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name_  
_Like a fool at the top of my lungs_  
_Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend I'm alright_  
_But it's never enough_

"I'm okay." He whispered, his voice carried in the quiet expanse of darkness around him; it echoed around him softly.

"I have to do this." He reminded himself. "If I don't, no one else can."

_'Cause my echo, echo_  
_Is the only voice coming back_  
_Shadow, shadow_  
_Is the only friend that I have_

Nico's feet ached as he made his way toward the Phlegethon. He had studied this place quite thoroughly before jumping in and he knew that the Rive of Fire was the first place he had to go. The boils that had begun to appear on his arms faded and disappeared, his feet ached a little less and his headache faded into the background. Nico sighed, glancing upward and flinching. The area around him wasn't _dark_ anymore.

_Listen, listen_  
_I would take a whisper if that's all you had to give_  
_But it isn't, is it?_  
_You could come and save me and try to chase the crazy right out of my head_

He screamed, flinging himself backward as the _Arae_ encircled him. He could see every detail of their claws and wings- their hideous faces. He could see the layers of mist being pulled away as the _real_ image of Tartarus planted itself inside of his brain.

_The curse of unhappiness looms around you, son of Hades. _They all seemed to speak at once, yet not at all.

_You can even see the reality that Tartarus is, what need is there to curse you further. _

They came in closer, Nico's hand gripping the hilt of his sword for dear life.

_What need is there, except for our own pleasure. _

_I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name_  
_Like a fool at the top of my lungs_  
_Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend I'm alright_  
_But it's never enough_

Nico ran as fast as he could, bounding right into a lady. He flung himself backward, stifling a yelp when he saw her face. _Akhlys_. Shit. He backed up slowly, seeing the edge of Tartarus right behind him. He couldn't imagine what Chaos was like and he didn't want to find out.

"Oh, Son of Hades, You are _perfect._" Akhlys smiled, showing off her crooked teeth. "You are already so full of misery, what more can I do to you?"

Nico shook his head, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"He is beautiful, the boy that you love so much." Akhlys wiped the front of her shield, smiling in a reminiscent sort of way. "You suffer every single day, knowing he won't ever be yours. You are so completely perfect."

_'Cause my echo, echo_  
_Is the only voice coming back_  
_Shadow, shadow_  
_Is the only friend that I have_

_I don't wanna be an island_  
_I just wanna feel alive and_  
_Get to see your face again_

Nico took a step backward, her words were like salt on the wound that he had already dug so deep. He fell off the edge, his hands barely flinging upwards fast enough to catch the cliff edge. He stifled a cry as Akhlys stuck her head over the edge of the chasm. She pulled him up, so his feet dangled off the edge of the cliff- his knees now caked in mud. He closed his eyes for a moment, wishing he was dead- death ought to be better than this.

_I don't wanna be an island_  
_I just wanna feel alive and_  
_Get to see your face again_

He angrily imagined the one person he longed to see, thrusting his fist into the dirt below him. His perfect green eyes and dark hair. Dear gods, why couldn't he just _let him go._

"Enjoy Night's fortress, son of Hades." Akhlys' voice cut through his thoughts. Nico looked up, reaching for his sword. He wasn't fast enough, Akhlys shoved him forward with an inhumane amount of strength. "I pray she'll show you mercy."

_But 'til then_  
_Just my echo, my shadow_  
_You're my only friend and I'm_

It was too dark to see, so Nico ran- eyes closed- his hand tracing the wall. He turned left every time the corridor split that way. It wasn't a good plan, but it was the only one that he had. He cursed, quite loudly, when he fell over the edge of what he guessed was another cliff.

_I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name_  
_Like a fool at the top of my lungs_  
_Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend I'm alright_  
_But it's never enough_

He heard the voices of lost souls below him, telling him that he deserved to fall_. He was a murderer. _He deserved to die. Obviously, the fates didn't agree because two giants scooped him up in a giant jar, preventing him from giving in and falling to the bottom. Nico pounded at the walls, eventually giving up to conserve oxygen. He let a single tear roll down his cheek as he pulled his knees up to him.

_'Cause my echo, echo_

His voice echoed across the sides of the container. "Let me go!"

There was no use, he would die if he didn't conserve oxygen, he'd have to take a lesson from his father's book.

_Oh my shadow, shadow_

The shadows curved around him as he took another pomegranate in his mouth. It was as bitter as he felt, _why did he think going to Tartarus was a good idea? _

_Hello, hello_

He pounded weakly against the side of the container, he only had one pomegranate left, he was going to die if someone didn't get him out soon. Nico would've laughed if he had the air available. Of all the ways to die, especially considering everything he had gone through in Tartarus, asphyxia was not the way he had imagined.

He knocked quietly on the side of the jar one last time, he was too weak to call out the only thought that was in his mind:

_Is anybody out there?_

**Hey guys! I hope you liked it! I'm trying to get back into writing and I think this is a good start. I love you all, thanks for reading. As always, drop a review in the box below if ya wanna, I always love hearing what you guys think. **

**xoxoxox**

**SG2000**


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